


Sunflower Diner

by oorrrt



Category: ONEUS (Band)
Genre: Demon Hunters, Hurt/Comfort somewhat, M/M, an attempt at Horror Comedy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-24
Updated: 2019-09-24
Packaged: 2020-10-27 08:29:42
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,201
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20757383
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/oorrrt/pseuds/oorrrt
Summary: Seoho and Geonhak go demon hunting (again).





	Sunflower Diner

**Author's Note:**

> warnings @ end for spoiler purposes !!
> 
> okay this was supposed to be like 2k at most oops..... got too long now barely edited so apologies for any mistakes. anyways this fic was inspired by myself except it got too serious and weird halfway through wooo! whatever love yourself xoxo

Seoho pulls open the passenger door of Geonhak’s car, throwing his baseball bat into the backseat before buckling in.

“Sorry for calling you on such quick notice,” Geonhak apologizes.

Seoho ruffles his hair. “No biggie. I should warn you though, I’m coming off a shrooms trip.”

Geonhak narrows his eyes. “You sure you’ll be okay for this?”

“Yeah, it’s wearing off. I’m just coming to terms with new knowledge about the universe.”

Geonhak starts speeding the moment they get off campus. Seoho leans his forehead against the window. The world still looks more vibrant, and he can still pick out patterns better than he could sober, but the odd feelings of being out of time have mostly dissipated.

“The demon we’ve been hearing about over the past month has finally been spotted the next city over,” Geonhak says.

“How long of a drive is that?”

“About forty minutes.”

Seoho glances at the sky. It’s already evening, the slight dimming of sunlight much more apparent to him from the hallucinogen still in his system. Sunset’s only a few minutes away, and he’s not sure he wants to traipse through unknown woods in the dark.

“We need to hurry,” Geonhak says, as if he read his mind. Maybe he did. Right now, Seoho could be convinced of telepathy. He hums under his breath, a song he’s not sure exists.

“Do you want music?” Geonhak asks.

Seoho remembers. “Yeah! I made a playlist the other day for demon hunting drives.”

Geonhak chuckles. Seoho thinks he can hear the fondness in his voice, and it makes his stomach warm. He takes his phone out of his pocket and plugs it in.

_Love Bomb _begins to play. Seoho fiddles with the rips on his jeans, Geonhak’s focused on the road. Apart from Seoho’s soft humming, they stay quiet as the song fades out, replaced by the iconic intro of _Likey._ Then _Airplane. _ Then _Roller Coaster._

Geonhak turns to him, eyes narrowed. “Hyung, this is just bubblegum kpop.”

Seoho yanks out one of the strings in his pants. “Yeah, but I curated it.”

Geonhak takes Seoho’s phone out of his lap and checks the playlist. “_For demon hunting?”_

“Yeah, I told you I made it for this. I mean, it also triples as my grocery shopping and workout music.”

“Wait, you–”

“Yeah, yeah, I work out.”

“–You go grocery shopping?” Geonhak continues. He huffs. “All self-respecting people should work out.”

Seoho crosses his arms. “Not everyone _can,_ Geonhak. And what do you mean do I grocery shop. How else would I eat?”

“Dining hall and stealing food.” Geonhak smirks like he’s won some argument, then places the phone back onto Seoho’s lap, face-down the way Seoho likes it.

There are very few other cars on the road. It’s odd for a Thursday evening, but Seoho settles on thinking it’s because they’re in a rush, and the universe is looking after them.

Geonhak’s worrying at his lip, a nervous habit. Seoho tucks a stray bang away from Geonhak’s eyes, letting his fingers linger on his ear. “What are you thinking about?”

“I wonder whether the people in the city have evacuated, or at least taken some cautionary measures,” Geonhak says with a frown.

“Probably not, no one takes demons seriously.”

“Which I don’t _get._ Literally only two years ago one killed eleven people.”

“But there have been dozens of benign demons since. If people freaked out about every single one then it would be mass panic all the time.”

“Still. I _know _this one’s dangerous.”

Seoho smiles at him, but Geonhak’s still watching the road. “I believe you.”

And he does. Geonhak’s studying demons, both in school and in his free time, it would be stupid _not _to believe him. But his unease is contagious. It’s flattering that he comes to Seoho immediately with his demon problems these days, but Seoho doesn’t know what to do. He feels like a fraud. A fraud with a baseball bat.

It started when they met in the demonology section of their university library, Geonhak for class research, Seoho just out of curiosity. And then they started hanging out, then dancing around each other. And then the first date that might not have been a date, when Geonhak invited Seoho out on a trip. To kill a demon.

Well, to locate one that was supposedly just hanging out nearby. But it turned out to be aggressive, and Seoho turned out to be surprisingly good at beating it to death.

He had felt a little sexy. Geonhak had mostly been grossed out. But impressed! But Seoho still wasn’t sure whether it had been a date or not. And clearly it’s still on his mind.

Geonhak in general has been on his mind a lot all day, now that Seoho thinks about it. In the moments between losing his sense of time and discovering the meaning of the seasons, he missed Geonhak. Wanted to share those moments with him.

He glances over at him, white-knuckled in the driver’s seat, _Hi High_ playing in the background. Geonhak returns the gaze, only for a second, before reaching out and grabbing Seoho’s hand.

“We’ll be there in like five minutes,” he says.

Seoho slots his fingers between Geonhak’s, linking their hands tighter. “I’m not sure if I’m ready.”

“What’s there to be ready for?”

“I don’t know. I don’t know anything, I don’t know why you brought me.”

Geonhak squeezes his hand. “You saved my life last time.”

He lets go, and Seoho sticks his hand under his thighs to keep from reaching back out. “Beginner’s luck,” he says bitterly.

“When you’re out there, you… stay sane.” Geonhak takes a deep breath. “I remember last time, when I felt lost, you were the one who kept it together, figured out what was wrong. I trust your senses, you should too.”

Seoho faces the window; he can’t look at Geonhak right now.

“I trust _you._”

Geonhak pulls into the sandy lot of a park. They both take a moment to breathe. Seoho pulls off one of his socks and rolls it onto his bat, wrinkling his nose at the light stink. Geonhak raises an eyebrow at him.

“I heard that if you put a sock on your bat, if someone tries to grab it to unbalance you, they grab the sock and it slips off,” Seoho explains.

“I don’t remember that rule in baseball,” Geonhak jests. The joke falls limply between them, both of them too concerned to laugh.

Outside, the sky is twilight-blue, streaked with the last of the orange sunset clouds. The sun had risen that day bright and more orange than usual too, Seoho remembers. He hadn’t imagined then he’d be hunting down a violent demon by sundown.

Geonhak locks his car and stuffs the key into his pocket, looking around. There are no other cars in the parking lot, no sign of human life anywhere. He pops open his trunk to take out a small dagger and a switchblade. He hands the switchblade to Seoho.

“When did you get these blessed?” Seoho asks, turning the knife over in his hand.

“I got someone to bless the pond behind my apartment, so I can just stick new weapons in the water. A lot faster, since we can’t reuse them once they’ve hit demon flesh.”

“How are we going to find the demon anyways?”

Geonhak squints at the setting sun. “I think it’s going to find _us._”

“Then would it be better to wait around?”

“No, it might not know we’re here yet. Also the off chance that we catch it unaware would be a huge upper hand for us.”

The two of them set off into the woods. With the trees overhead, it’s already dark. Geonhak pulls a taser out of his pocket, gripping it tightly against his phone, glowing faintly with a map of the park. In his other hand he holds the dagger pointed slightly forward, subconsciously prepped for a fight. Seoho rolls his bat from one hand to the other.

Being outside, walking on his own two feet calms him down, keeps him feeling in control. His windbreaker swishes by his sides like a magnified version of the wind through leaves, and part of him wishes he wore a quieter outfit.

Whatever. The demon’s probably going to find them first anyways. Geonhak’s just pretending to be optimistic.

They walk in silence, sunset melting seamlessly into night. At least it’s a full moon; it’s not pitch black even under the canopy of trees.

“_Shit,_” Geonhak whispers. “It’s a full moon.”

“Isn’t it good that we can see?”

“Yes, but demons have extra powers on the full moon. Even the entire demonology department combined knows little to nothing about the moon abilities.”

“Well, good for us then.” Seoho closes his eyes and sighs.

When he opens them, something about the trail in front of them looks different.

It’s…darker. He squints, and it looks like the air is rippling at the curve in the path ahead.

Seoho reaches out and grabs Geonhak’s arm. Geonhak looks at him oddly.

“Hey, ahead of us. Is that there or am I still hallucinating?”

Geonhak peers out, eyebrows furrowed. “I’m not sure what…”

“_There!_” Seoho hisses. The rippling intensifies, like summer heat above asphalt, then disappears entirely. It’s still darker than it was earlier.

“Looking for me?”

Seoho and Geonhak whip around.

The demon laughs.

It’s similar in form to the last one Seoho killed; body somewhere in the realm of humanoid canine, horns, eyes everywhere. But this one doesn’t seem too attached to its physical form, the edges of its body blurring in and out of focus.

“We’re here to end you,” Geonhak says, voice even deeper than usual, but Seoho catches it waver.

So does the demon. It grins, sharp teeth gleaming in the moonlight. “Don’t feign confidence, it’s unbecoming.”

“We’re not going to let you hurt anyone.” Geonhak’s voice is stronger this time.

“Too late, little bird.”

Geonhak sharply sucks in a breath.

Seoho slams the demon on the head with his bat.

“_Vibe check,_” he mutters.

The demon launches at him, hands shifting into sharp claws mid-air. Seoho sidesteps the attack and swings his bat, smashing the demon solidly in the stomach.

It spits and whips around at Seoho, but Geonhak tazes it before it can move.

Its dark, misshapen body writhes, and Seoho lowers his bat a fraction of an inch. Maybe this would be easier than he expected.

The demon stands, ripping the taser strings out of its arm. Seoho’s not sure if he’s imagining things, but it looks taller.

It lunges.

Seoho jumps out of the way. But a claw manages to scratch his arm, ripping his jacket. It stings.

Geonhak reaches out and tazes it again. The demon snarls and steps back, eyes flicking between the two of them.

Its head is quickly moving out of focus, smoky. Seoho takes a deep breath, not sure whether it’s the demon’s doing, or the shrooms. He’s also not sure what would be better. The sting of the cut is beginning to get worse.

“I’ll let you go,” the demon bargains, “I’ll let you leave these woods safe, little bird.”

“_Stop calling me that._ And why would we believe you?” Geonhak growls.

The demon chuckles. “You shouldn’t, bird-boy! But the chance of leaving safely is a lot better than your chances of fighting me and getting out alive.” It advances towards Geonhak, slinking unnaturally. Geonhak stands his ground, holding out the taser with his finger on the button.

And Seoho sees the mark. It’s between the demon’s shoulder blades, faintly glowing orange. If he’s fast, and quiet, he’d be able to strike it.

He judges the distance. Fast would be more efficient and more doable than quiet. He flips out the switchblade and lunges.

The tip of the blade is centimeters away from its mark when the cut on his arm _burns._

Seoho tenses, and it’s enough to lead the knife off course, sinking too low into the demon’s back. He falls, knife still buried into the demon’s flesh.

It shrieks. Then its shriek melts into laughter. The sound rings in Seoho’s head. Painful.

_Fuck._ If a blessed blade doesn’t hit a demon on its mark, then the demon can draw more power from it. Plus, now the blade won’t work even if Seoho can retrieve it.

And the cut still burns. A toxin? His arm is going numb. Geonhak shouts.

Wait. Geonhak.

Seoho pulls himself off the ground towards the sound of his voice. The entire forest is blurring at the edges like the demon had been earlier.

A warm arm wraps around him, helping him stand properly. It smells like lavender. Geonhak.

Geonhak?

“Hey. Hey, are you okay?”

Seoho twists his head to see Geonhak’s face, so close, worry lines creasing his forehead.

He groans. “I’ll get back to you on that.”

Geonhak keeps his hold on him, walking forward slowly. It feels like his warmth is bringing Seoho back to reality, the pain a little dulled, the world just a bit more in focus.

“Wait. Where’s the demon?” Seoho feels Geonhak breathe, his chest moving against his side.

“It ran into the woods. I. I don’t know why, since you were down, it was stronger, and I wouldn’t have been able to stop it alone.”

“Maybe we hurt it more than it let on in the beginning,” Seoho says. He’s trying to stay optimistic.

“Maybe…” Geonhak trails off. He turns back and forth, looking into the woods that surround them. Nothing. “We should go home.”

“But the demon’s still out there. More powerful than before.” Seoho grimaces. “Sorry about that.”

Geonhak squeezes his arm. “It was a mistake, it happens. And I know it’s still out there, but I’d rather not have _you_ dead.”

“I’ll be fine. I’m already feeling better.” Seoho rips himself out of Geonhak’s grasp. “See? Let’s keep going.”

“But–”

“If we don’t kill it now, and it kills other people, I wouldn’t be able to live with myself.”

Geonhak sighs. “You’re right.” He reaches out to grab Seoho’s hand, free now without the switchblade. Geonhak’s hand is a bit sweaty, clasping Seoho’s tightly. And that means Geonhak’s holding his dagger and his taser in his other hand. Which isn’t really the best if the demon attacks.

But Seoho doesn’t want to let go.

Geonhak leads him into the woods, path forgotten behind them. For a second Seoho worries that it’s not really Geonhak, it’s the demon fucking with him, but the demon wouldn’t be able to mimic Geonhak’s scent. It wouldn’t know Geonhak’s habit of pursing his lips when he’s nervous, or how he squeezes his hand on the upswing of his arms as he walks.

“I’d know if it wasn’t you,” Seoho says out loud.

“What?” Geonhak glances at him, confused.

“Nothing,” Seoho says, casts his eyes on the ground.

The leaves are soggy from recent rain. Seoho can still smell it in the air, the dampness trapped under the trees’ canopy. His left foot feels gross, sockless and sweaty in his shoe.

There’s a rustle nearby. Geonhak hears it too, pulls Seoho close. They survey the forest all around them, looking for any movement. Another rustle.

A small man limps out from behind a tree.

Seoho raises his bat at him.

“Wait, no, please don’t hurt me,” the man pleads.

Seoho falters. The man looks at him, eyes wide and afraid. But something’s off.

The stranger’s outline is blurry.

Seoho squints, and he can see the man’s appearance flickering ever so slightly, hazy and intangible. He quickly scans the trees behind him. They’re in focus.

Seoho raises the bat again. “Geonhak, this is the demon,” he says, keeping his eyes locked on it.

“Please. I need help,” the demon begs.

Geonhak says nothing.

“Geonhak?”

Seoho can’t even hear him move. He risks a glance over.

Geonhak is pale. Eyes wide. Arms limp. Frozen.

Seoho reaches out to grab his elbow. “Geonhak. Geonhak! This is–”

“That’s Yeo Hwanwoong,” Geonhak whispers, shaking.

Seoho frowns. “No, it’s the de–”

“He went missing two years ago. We. We went to high school together.”

“It’s faking it,” Seoho says, his voice involuntarily pitching higher, “it knows, it’s trying to trick you.”

“Geonhak-hyung,” the demon says, voice impossibly soft, “please don’t hurt me.” It takes a step closer. Seoho pulls himself and Geonhak back.

“Geonhakie-hyung…” The demon takes another step. Seoho raises his bat to swing.

“Hyung. Please. Help me.”

Seoho glances at Geonhak. He has tears in his eyes.

“I’ve been so afraid, Geonhakie-hyung. I don’t know what’s happening.”

Geonhak takes a shuddering breath. “It’s okay,” he murmurs. “It’ll be okay.” Before Seoho can hold him back, he steps forward, engulfs the demon in a hug.

“I missed you,” Seoho hears Geonhak say, voice cracking.

“I missed you too.”

The demon’s fingers morph into claws.

Seoho leaps forward, throws himself between it and Geonhak. The demon lets go of Geonhak in surprise, but the claws sink down into Seoho’s back.

Seoho screams.

The ache and blurring senses from earlier come tumbling back, twice as strong. Through his haze of pain he manages to keep a grip on the demon’s shoulders, throwing them both down into the damp leaves.

They roll into a tree, Seoho ending up under the demon. It growls at him, teeth still just as sharp as before, more unnerving in a human mouth.

“You don’t know what you’re doing,” it hisses.

Seoho shoves at the demon’s chest, but he’s too weak to push him off. His bat got lost at some point in the rolling, and it’s not like he’d be able to use it in this position anyways. He knees the demon weakly in the stomach.

The demon grunts in pain. Louder than Seoho expected. Even he could tell his attack was useless.

“Geonhak-hyung,” the demon says, “your friend is hurting me.”

Seoho can’t hear any response from Geonhak. He reluctantly takes his eyes off the demon to look for him.

Geonhak is still standing where Seoho had broken off the hug, vacant look in his eyes, illuminated eerily in the moonlight.

“Seoho,” the demon says, eyes narrow. And god, with his mouth closed, he really does just look like someone their age, torn up and bruised.

Seoho grunts in reply. It’s the most he can manage.

“What are you going to do? Geonhak’s not going to help you.” The demon smiles, knowing Geonhak can’t hear him from that distance.

And even if he could. Would he do anything? Would he help Seoho?

Seoho’s filled with a burning regret. He shouldn’t have let himself trust Geonhak.

The demon lets go of his arms. But Seoho’s too weak to move.

It stands up, deliberately slouching to seem helpless. “Geonhakie-hyung, please come here.”

Geonhak stumbles slowly, as if possessed, towards the demon.

“No, no, no, no, no,” Seoho says as loudly as he can, “it’s going to hurt you. Geonhak, no.”

Geonhak stops three feet away.

“Hyung,” the demon whispers, “watch this.”

It stretches out its arms, cracks its knuckles. Seoho can barely make out the way his hands shift from human to demon and back again, like an illusion.

It lunges down at Seoho. Sinks its claws into his side.

Pain. Seoho’s eyes roll back in his head. His eyes fog. He sees nothing but red. His own scream reaches his ears a beat late.

“_Geonhak!_”

And then the claws are gone. Seoho feels blood dripping out of his side, and the pain is still pressing at the edges of his consciousness, but he _is _conscious. And he can see.

A few feet from his body, Geonhak is on his knees. Cradling the limp body of the demon.

But it seems to have chosen its human form to die in.

Geonhak’s shoulders shake, like an exaggeration. His arms are wrapped around the demon’s body, one supporting his neck, the other his waist. From its back protrudes the dagger.

It’s not bleeding, demons don’t bleed. But its breathing is shallow, only moments from death.

“Geonhakie-hyung.” The demon’s voice so low Seoho barely catches it.

“I’m sorry,” Geonhak whispers.

“Save me, little bird,” it says. Then disintegrates into ash.

Geonhak stares blankly at his hands, coated in gray.

Seoho crawls over, finding his discarded bat on the way. He tries to wipe away the dust on Geonhak’s hands, but it sticks in the creases of Geonhak’s palm, clinging stubbornly the way demon remains do.

“See?” Seoho tries to comfort him, “Demon dust. A person wouldn’t burst into ash if they died.”

“He was so real, hyung,” Geonhak says, still looking at his hands. “And how did he know who Hwanwoong was. Demons can’t read minds.”

“Maybe it’s the undiscovered moon powers,” Seoho reasons.

Geonhak stays silent.

“Geonhak. I don’t want to interrupt your mourning, but I have at least three wounds I need to take a look at, and I’m starving.”

The younger finally peers up at that, and seeing the blood on Seoho’s shirt, he stands immediately.

“Good,” Seoho encourages. “Now dust those remains off on your pants and let’s get crackalackin.”

As if the trees sense their success, the woods are much brighter on their walk back. Maybe it’s from the moon, now risen directly above them, or maybe the demon had taken some darkness with it in death.

Geonhak still says nothing, and Seoho’s unsure what to do. They walk back in silence, a foot of space between them.

“Do you want me to drive?” Seoho asks, when they’ve gotten to the car.

“No, I’ll be fine. Just look up a place for food. My phone’s dead.”

Seoho does as he’s told. He turns on the GPS to the only place open at 1am, some diner only named “Diner” along the way. Before he knows it, they’re already turning off the highway, careening down an empty country road.

“It’ll come up in half a mile on your right,” Seoho says.

Geonhak frowns out the windshield. “Are those sunflowers?”

They are. Rows and rows of sunflowers, like the ones in paintings, blooming despite the season.

“They’re not usually in bloom this late in the fall,” Seoho says, mirroring Geonhak’s frown. “That’s weird.”

“The world is stupid,” Geonhak eloquently concludes.

The sunflower field ends right by the edge of the diner’s parking lot. The _n _and the _r _in the neon _Diner _sign are burnt out. Fantastic.

Not a single other customer is inside, as expected. The waitress startles when they walk in, then waves them over to sit at any table in the restaurant. Seoho leads the way to the booth furthest in the corner, window looking out at the sunflowers.

The diner has those disposable paper menus that double as placemats. Seoho tears at the corner of his, stomach growling, eyes darting back and forth. Geonhak sits still with his hands in his lap. Seoho’s not sure if he’s even reading the menu.

“Can I get you started with any drinks?” the waitress asks, materializing beside them. She has grease stains on her skirt.

Seoho stops picking at the menu. “Yeah, could I get a chocolate milkshake? And uh…” He looks at Geonhak, still staring down blankly. “And an Oreo milkshake please? Both to go.” Seoho orders for him.

The waitress nods and walks away. Seoho runs a finger down the menu, tempted to buy a large meal, but he doesn’t want to keep Geonhak here for any longer than necessary.

He reaches out and touches Geonhak’s shoulder. Geonhak tenses under his touch, then relaxes a bit.

“He used to call me that. _Little bird. _ And then I got bigger and it was baby chicken, then muscle chick. God, he was so annoying.” Geonhak presses his palms into his eyelids.

“I’m sorry,” Seoho says. He rubs up and down Geonhak’s arm, setting off puffs of ash, like spores. The waitress comes back with their milkshakes.

“I don’t want to talk about it anymore,” Geonhak says in a low voice.

“That’s fine. Do you want me to be quiet?”

“No.”

Seoho pushes the Oreo milkshake under Geonhak’s face. Geonhak’s nose crinkles, but he takes it, sipping slowly.

“I have a physics test tomorrow, and considering the state I’m in right now I probably will not make it. Doesn’t matter, I’ll email my prof and see if she’ll let me retake it. If not, they drop the lowest exam grade anyways, and I think I got a 78 on the last one, which is fine, I guess,” Seoho rambles.

Geonhak’s eyebrows fly up. “Wait, shit. You’re hurt, right? I have an emergency kit in the trunk.”

Seoho laughs it off. “I’m fine. The cuts sting and I’m bruised all over, but I’ll just wash it out when I get home and sleep it off.”

Geonhak doesn’t look convinced. “We should get going.”

On the drive back, Geonhak insists on playing Seoho’s playlist. The bright songs seem a bit mocking now, but Seoho drinks his milkshake without complaint, and they’re at Seoho’s apartment quickly enough.

Geonhak parks the car and takes out his emergency kit, following Seoho to his door.

“I’m fine, dude,” Seoho says. “You should go home, get rest.”

“I want to check your wounds,” Geonhak insists.

“I’ll just take a shower and pour some antiseptics on it.” Seoho walks inside.

Geonhak trails him in. “You’re not supposed to use rubbing alcohol or hydrogen peroxide on wounds,” he nags.

Seoho turns around. “Geonhak. I’m fine. I’ll figure it out.”

“Hyung, please.” Geonhak’s eyes are puffy. “Let me take care of you.”

Seoho sighs and slips off his shoes, makes his way to his room. “Fine.”

Geonhak tries to follow him into the bathroom. Seoho pushes him away gently. “No, you’re not showering with me. Just dig through my drawers for anything that fits you and you can come in when I’m done.”

Geonhak frowns. “Do you have a mild, unscented soap to clean your wounds with?”

“I’ll just use shampoo.” Seoho walks in and locks the door before Geonhak can stop him.

The water stings, and it’s probably a few degrees too hot, but now that Seoho has time to mentally relax, he feels disgusting. Like there’s something buried in his wounds he needs to boil out. He wants to just sit down and pass out, but knowing Geonhak is outside forces him to shower quickly and get out.

Geonhak showers quickly too – Seoho has barely dried off and gotten pants on when he steps out behind a cloud of steam. He goes straight to Seoho, sits next to him and inspects all of his cuts. Wordlessly, he takes out his first aid kit and applies ointment to all the cuts, pasting on some bandages for the worst ones. Seoho clenches the sheets in his hands prepared for pain, but Geonhak is so gentle he barely feels it.

“Thanks,” Seoho says when he’s nearly done with the last one.

Geonhak smooths out the edge of the bandage on his side, the biggest one. His hands are lightly calloused, warm. Seoho wonders if it’s his imagination, or if Geonhak’s fingers linger a few seconds longer than necessary.

“I’ll leave you alone now, then,” Geonhak says, and gets up.

“Dude, just stay the night.”

“You need rest. Besides, I thought you didn’t want me over.”

“I didn’t want you wasting your time. But you’re already here, and it’s late as fuck, and I don’t want you going home alone. Also if I wanted you to leave, why would I have given you a change of clothes?”

Geonhak hesitates.

“Stay,” Seoho says.

Geonhak twists his fingers together, takes careful steps back towards the bed. Seoho gets up to grab a spare blanket and hands it to him. He turns off the light and slithers into his bed, Geonhak already situated as close to the edge as possible.

Seoho strokes Geonhak’s back for a few minutes until the younger is breathing deeply and his own eyes are threatening to shut. Geonhak doesn’t twist any closer in sleep, so Seoho pulls his blanket tightly around his body and rolls over to the other edge. His body is on the brink of shutdown. But sleep doesn’t come for a long time.

Seoho wakes up, brain feeling numb. A few seconds later he registers how sore he is all over, the bandage on his side peeling at the edge. Groaning, he plasters it back onto his skin, slowly forgetting his dreams piece by piece.

He untangles himself from his blanket, throwing his arm out to the side. He’s alone.

Yesterday’s events tumble back into his consciousness. Wait, Geonhak slept over.

Seoho frowns at the empty space next to him. He gets up and peers into the bathroom, into the hallway. No one’s home. Getting back into bed, he smells the other pillow just to make sure. Weird, it doesn’t smell like Geonhak, and Seoho _knows _he’d be able to tell.

He checks his phone. It’s 4:48pm. He never sleeps that late. Maybe Geonhak slipped out early in the morning, and his scent dissipated during the day.

The only notification on Seoho’s phone is an email from his physics professor, telling him it’s okay that he can’t make it to his exam since there’s going to be a different make-up exam for other students that couldn’t attend. He sighs in relief.

But wait, he also didn’t send his professor an email. Did Geonhak do it for him? He knows Seoho’s phone password, and it’s something he’d do.

He flips through his messages. The last one that came in was from Geonhak yesterday evening, telling him about the demon, saying he’d be over in an hour. It feels like a relic. Nothing after that.

Throwing his phone onto the bed next to him, Seoho gets up and goes to the bathroom. He has three bandages on his body; the big one on his side, one on his upper arm, one on his back.

He peels back the bandage on his side to look at the wound. There are five puncture marks, as expected, but…

The wounds look _old._

They already look mostly healed, dark and scabby. Seoho frowns and runs a finger along the rings of skin circling them.

He stumbles.

It’s like, for a second, he’s thrown back into the fuzziness, the dizziness – like a mixture of hallucinating, and whatever it was that blurred his vision when he was in the forest last night. He quickly tapes the bandage back on.

His phone buzzes. He trots back to his bed and picks it up. There’s a text from an unknown number. It’s a link to a local news website for a city he vaguely recognizes to be one just a few hours away, and too curious to delete it, he clicks it open hoping it isn’t something weird.

It takes a while to load. The website looks old, but it’s definitely today’s date written at the top. The headline is obnoxiously bold, and it takes Seoho a few seconds to process what it says.

Wait.

No.

It can’t be.

_< Yeo Hwanwoong, 19, Found Dead in Sunflower Park >_

There’s a knock on his door.

**Author's Note:**

> tw: not super graphic violence, secondary but named character death, drug use (if you think anything else should be added here please lmk!)
> 
> fun fact: seoho and i have the same mbti type (i know mbti is bs but fun coincidence)
> 
> and lastly!! [here's the playlist](https://open.spotify.com/playlist/4xtuQq0f5F6phuL4ccR0Vw?si=vqCuv8j3RA6YedYD_Trg9g) >;-)


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